New Delhi: High on the forbidding Kola Peninsula in northwest Russia, within the Arctic Circle, lies an incredible Soviet submarine graveyard near the Russian naval base of Olenya Bay. Sometime in the ‘70s, Nezametnaya Cove became a ship graveyard, home to abandoned Cold War-era hardware that clings to life – just – in the 21st century. Back then the shipyards had a hard time keeping up with the regular and urgent orders, so as a rule, they didn't even begin to deal with dismantling old submarines. So they resolved the problem of their scrapping very simply: if they weren't sunk as targets during exercises, they were towed to the next cove over where the hull soon just floated on the surface. According to the accounts of veterans, there were still some ships and boats floating there. Resting semi-submerged in icy water beneath the ruins of several abandoned buildings, the rusting submarines are stark reminders of the vast, brutish Soviet military machine. Their location within the boundaries of a restricted zone accessible only to those with security clearance makes the wrecks little more than contaminated monuments to the collapsed Soviet Union. While several abandoned submarines were reportedly scrapped during the 1990s, a 2007 Google Earth image revealed at least seven remaining hulks. Nearby, a rusting crane used to scrap the vessels stands near an abandoned chemical storage warehouse. Amid serious environmental concerns, it's unclear how long the wrecks will survive the axe – assuming they haven't yet been scrapped.
